


before we say goodbye

by tusktooth



Series: pride 2020 [3]
Category: Macdonald Hall - Gordon Korman
Genre: Getting Together, Goodbyes, Graduation, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24609562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tusktooth/pseuds/tusktooth
Summary: Tomorrow, Bruno was going to have to say goodbye to his best friend.
Relationships: Boots O'Neal/Bruno Walton
Series: pride 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772290
Kudos: 13





	before we say goodbye

**Author's Note:**

> bro i miss bruno and boots zucchini warriors movie when  
> [find me on tumblr](http://twinkfjord.tumblr.com/)

Everything was over tomorrow.

Classes had ended for the graduating class a few days prior and they had spent the remainder of the week packing up their rooms and preparing for graduation which was, oh yeah,  _ tomorrow _ .

Tomorrow was the day where Bruno was going to have to say goodbye to Macdonald Hall, quite possibly forever, or at least until he had a son of his own old enough to attend. By the time that happened, the Fish might not even be working there anymore, which was admittedly a depressing thought.

Bruno was terrible at goodbyes. Greetings were easier, he walked into each room with a bang and immediately caught the attention of all. But more often than not, he had to get dragged away from the things that he loved. After all, he got the Hall a fucking pool so that Boots would stay there with him and terrorized half the boys at school so that they could continue to room together.

And maybe it wasn’t Macdonald Hall that Bruno was terrified to say goodbye to. Maybe it was the memories that he had shared with his best friend. Maybe it was Boots himself because, while he was positive they’d see one another again, it was never going to be the same. He was going to be studying in Toronto while Boots was over five hours away in Montréal. They were both going to change and make new friends and they’d never be as close as they were right now.

Tomorrow they were going to pull off the biggest prank in all of their years and Boots was going to give a speech like the class president he was and then Bruno was also going to give a speech as the winner of the student vote. Their families and peers would be in the crowd smiling and crying because they had done so much here, hadn’t they? It was terrible to see it all come to an end. Hell, the girls had graduated last week and Bruno had cried his fucking eyes out even though he knew he’d see them again at his own ceremony.

After all that, they would all hop into their parents’ cars and go to their respective homes for the summer to work or to chill or, in Diane’s case, to pack up everything for her summer program at MIT.

Once Bruno was in his car he will have officially missed his chance to tell his best friend he loved him. Fuck, even the morning would probably be too late because the ceremony was in the morning and he didn’t want to cause Boots undue stress before his speech.

He was going to have to talk to him now.

Bruno walked into his room, the one that they had shared for so many years, only to find Boots sitting on his bed and staring down at a framed picture. It was of them and all their friends at the opening of the pool, standing together with wide, excited smiles.

He sat next to him and peered at the picture. “We were so little back then.”

Boots hummed in agreement. “And incredibly well-accomplished, apparently. We’ve pulled off a lot since, but I think this is still my favorite. Maybe because it means we’ll have a legacy here even after we’re gone.”

“You know, I wasn’t joking when I said we should get jobs here so that we can stay here forever,” he said quietly.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re the one majoring in political science. I’m going to be an English teacher, so I can certainly come back.”

“And then I can work at some sort of nonprofit in the city and sleep on your couch,” Bruno proposed. “Or actually we can set up two twins in the bedroom. Just like old times!”

“I think in four years we’ll be ready to upgrade to a two-bedroom,” he replied. “We’ll still be up in each other’s space enough sharing everything else.”

“I don’t know. I think you’re going to miss me a lot,” he said, nudging him softly.

“Yeah,” Boots sighed as he placed the picture into a cardboard box. “I will.”

“We should go for a walk,” Bruno suggested. “It’s nice out. We can go sit by the cannons and chat, just like old times.”

Boots nodded and they walked outside together into the crisp air of a late spring evening. They didn’t even bother to be sneaky about it today as many boys were moving in and out of the dorms to pack things in their parents’ cars and because they were generally more relaxed about staying up on the last night at school.

The cannons, luckily, were far enough away from the path between the dorms and the parking lot where they could enjoy some relative silence. There was, of course, a bit of music still drifting to them from Dormitory 2, but it was faint enough where it could hardly be heard.

It had rained the day prior so the grass was still a bit wet, but neither of them seemed to care. If this was their last night together here at the Hall, then they weren’t going to let any wet grass ruin their moment.

“I can’t believe that we won’t be here next year,” Boots said. “I can’t believe that we’re going to be apart for the next four years. It was probably foolish of me ever think so, but I always hoped we’d be crammed in that little room together forever.”

“Curse our superior intellects for getting us into the best schools in the country for our respective majors instead so that we couldn’t just go somewhere together,” Bruno replied, half-jokingly. “I’m going to miss sleeping through breakfast every single morning with you.”

“God, you’re never going to get up for class without me, are you? I’m going to have to call you every single morning!” he teased. “At least until you can work your schedule around to avoid morning classes.”

“Maybe I’ll make my schedule all morning classes just so you have to call me every morning. How else am I supposed to guarantee that I hear your voice?”

“I’ll call you, Bruno,” Boots promised. “You’re the one that’s bad at calling home. I call my parents every weekend!”

“Yeah, but they’re your family,” he reasoned.

He shrugged. “So are you.”

“Is that how you see me?” he asked sincerely. “As a brother?”

Boots turned to look at him, but it was hard to make out his expression with only the moonlight. “I mean, I don’t see you the same way I see Edward if that’s what your asking. But if you’re asking if I could ever deal with losing you, then the answer is a resounding no.”

“I’m scared,” Bruno confessed. “I’m scared that we’ll lose touch and everything that we have now will slip away.”

“Things change,” he replied. “And we can’t control that they do, but we have the ability to determine  _ how _ they change. We won’t lose touch unless we let ourselves and- if I’m going to be honest, Bruno -I  _ will _ show up on your doorstep if you don’t answer my calls.”

“And I’ll welcome you,” he replied. “And together we will plan a prank large enough to rock the University of Toronto for years to come.”

“As long as we don’t end up in prison, that sounds perfect,” he said with a smile. “And maybe we can try not getting caught for a change. You know, since we’ll be real adults and everything.”

“You know what the ultimate prank would be?” Bruno asked. “One last thing to pull on the Fish?”

“What?” Boots asked as he laid backward on the grass and started up at the stars.

“We should pretend that we’re together,” he suggested. “And then the Fish will think that we’ve been using the room for nefarious purposes all along.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” he replied with a shake of his head.

“And why is that?” Bruno asked. “You can tell your parents the truth if they don’t want you to think you’re not straight.”

“I think they’d be more concerned about it being you than my bisexuality in general, actually.”

“So why not?” he persisted. “Just a little joke to play on the Fish with the added bonus of keeping the guys guessing!”

Boots sighed and propped himself up on one of his elbows. “Because I’m not stupid enough to pretend to date somebody that I’m actually in love with.”

The breath left Bruno’s lungs. “You’re in love with me?”

He flopped back down on the grass. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you like that. I was supposed to wait for it to go away and then tell you jokingly later. I mean, I’ve already waited a few years, what’s a few more if it means not ruining your friendship with your straight best friend?”

“You should have told me sooner, what the hell?”

“Bruno-”

“No, listen,” he interjected. “First of all I’m gay and the fact that you thought otherwise is deeply offensive to me. Secondly, I’ve known that I loved you for over a year and the feelings have certainly been around much longer, just buried under layers of repressed thoughts and stupid jokes. I was going to tell you tonight because it’s the last night but I got nervous.”

“Bruno Walton doesn’t get nervous,” he replied with a laugh.

“Only when it comes to you, Boots,” he told him.

“So where does that leave us now?” Boots asked. “We have feelings for each other but we’re going to be in different provinces.”

“Five hours isn’t so bad between two boyfriends with years of history,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll even remember to call you.”

Boots grabbed Bruno by the collar and pulled him down into a kiss. “You’d better.”

Sure, it was the end of an era but that meant that a new one was only just beginning.


End file.
